


awry

by Veniae



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, but these two deserve it honestly, i thought this was gonna be angsty and then it wasn't, it's basically pure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-04
Updated: 2016-09-04
Packaged: 2018-08-13 01:21:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7956592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Veniae/pseuds/Veniae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a turn of events that surprises exactly nobody, Vox Machina's plan to steal a map goes downhill. Vex and Percy's cover is blown and they find themselves imprisoned.</p><p>Really, Vex should have seen this coming.</p>
            </blockquote>





	awry

“Your bedchambers, Lord and Lady Whitestone,” one of the guards says as he and his compatriot shove Percy and Vex into the cell.

Vex stumbles forward. She has to pull up the flowing skirt of her dress to avoid tripping on it and planting face-first into the uneven stone floor. She flips around and glares at the two guards. The sneer hurts as much as the sting their iron gauntlets left on her upper arms.

Percy, even in his dishevelled state, has an air of haughty indignation about him. He has turned around, too, and is staring the guards down. He clears his throat. “Once more, you are making a serious mistake. Release us now and maybe your higher-ups are not going to fire you for igniting a conflict with Whitestone.”

The guard that spoke before huffs and spits in Percy’s feet. “That woulda been a more serious threat if _Whitestone_ actually existed,” he drawls out the name like it’s a dirty word. “Enjoy your stay at Fragmine Palace, _sir_.” And he throws his head back and laughs, slamming the cell door shut.

The laughter echoes in the hallway outside and soon fades.

Percy groans in frustration and hits the door with a clenched fist.

“Yeah. I agree.” Vex drops on the only bed in the cell. The scarlet of her dress looks a dull brown in the dim light. She fists the delicate fabric in frustration. “And I really thought this was going to work.”

Percy turns towards her and they exchange a look. “It did seem like a solid plan,” he agrees, coming to join her on the bed.

And it really had. The search for the next Vestige, the Spire of Conflux, had led them to a certain Lady Claudia of Fragmine, who was rumoured to be in possession of a map of the Endless Maze of the Abyss. Lady Claudia was the heiress to an inconsequential estate, Percy had relayed to them, a childless widow who was infamously protective of her property. From what they could gather about her, Fragmine Estate was heavily warded, both through magical means and good old-fashioned men with pointy sticks.

They had found themselves at a loss; Vax’s suggestion to sneak in and steal the map himself was shot down quicker than he would be if he came swooping in on his Raven Queen wings. At least he had the dignity to blush when they reminded him of his track record of sneaking into rooms by himself.

The next idea came, surprisingly, from Grog. That woman sounded like she would really hit it off with Percy, he pointed out: stuck-up and suspicious of everything.

What had been meant as a playful jab made Vex purse her lips thoughtfully. Just as a plan started to crystallise in her head, Percy tented his fingers and leaned forward. He seemed to have come to the same conclusion. “That is an excellent point,” he said, smirking. “Let’s try it out in practice, shall we?”

The discussion went back and forth for a while. In true Vox Machina style, they got derailed more times than was strictly constructive, but eventually, they came up with a plan. Percy and Vex would make an appearance at Lady Claudia’s annual fete, as the Lord and Lady of Whitestone (which wasn’t as much a lie as inflating the truth a little bit, as Vex smugly pointed out), and once they found themselves in the Lady’s good graces, they would steal the map and replace it with a fake.

With Vax’s help, they made very convincing forged invitations. Vex used the opportunity to invest in a fancy evening gown, while Percy had a suit tailored for him. They even practiced dancing together, to brush up on both of their ballroom skills.

Yes, their plan had been pretty damn good. Before it had went to shit and they had been discovered. They hadn't even caught a glimpse of the bloody map.

“Son of a bitch,” Vex murmurs, kicking off her high-heeled shoes.

“I don’t know why I keep getting surprised every time our plans backfire,” Percy says beside her. “I literally cannot recall one instance of something actually going well.”

Vex shakes her head. “We are terrible at this, aren’t we.”

“We _really_ are.” He chuckles, and something about the sound catches her. It’s sharper than his usual laugh, with an edge of breathlessness to it, like he’s biting back panic.

She looks at him sideways. “Percival, are you feeling okay?”

“I--I am,” the hitch in his voice makes her stomach drop a little. “It’s just… this brings back memories. I’m not very good with those.” His voice is almost shrill at this point, and he bites his lip.

"What do you-- _oh_.” Vex kicks herself inwardly. Of course he would have a hard time inside prison cells, after what he has been through. After what the Briarwoods have put him through.

Like every time she remembers them, bitter anger begins to churn inside her. For a brief moment, she wishes they were still alive, just so she could kill them again for everything they did to her and to Vax, but above all, to Percy.

Then, the moment passes and she feels a tinge of iron in her mouth. The inside of her cheek throbs with pain where she had bitten down on it.

She forces her body to relax. Her hand finds Percival’s and she squeezes his cold fingers. “It’s okay, the others will break us out before our dearest Lady Fragmine and her piece of shit guards know what hit ‘em.”

Percy doesn’t react immediately, but then he laces his fingers through hers and squeezes back. “Of course,” he says. He exhales deeply. “Of course, you’re right.”

Vex nods, looking between their entwined hands and his face. His own eyes are shut and he’s taking small, shallow breaths through his mouth.

“Percival,” Vex calls out insistently, and he snaps up to her. Pale eyes search her face.

She forces any hint of fear or worry out of her expression, and gives him her most reassuring smile. “We’re going to be fine, all right? They are going to break us out before the damp ruins our clothes. Trinket is with them, and he won’t stop at anything to find me. And neither will my brother. In fact, I’m more worried they’re going to be _too_ fast and barge in here completely unprepared!”

A tight smile curls Percy’s mouth. “Which is probably exactly what’s going to happen.”

“ _Probably_.” Vex’s own amusement colours her voice. “But that’s fine, Grog can take those wimpy guards with his hands tied behind his back.”

Percy nods slowly, as if trying to convince himself. “He can, I’m sure.” He sighs. “I’m sorry, I’m… I still don’t remember most of it, you know. I get… flashes of recollection. But it’s enough.” He chuckles darkly, his eyes darting sideways. “More than enough, really.”

Vex weighs her next words. “Percy, I’m… not going to pretend to know how you feel. I know you’ve experienced _terrible_ things, and I really wish I could take them away. But I can’t. What I _can_ do, though, is keep them from happening to you again. I’m here, okay? And the others are coming. You’re gonna be safe.” She tugs at his hand until he looks at her. “I got you, Percival.”

He stares at her for a long, quiet moment. Vex tries to gauge his expression, but his eyes are all but unreadable in the low light. Then, his facade crumbles and he lets out a shuddering sigh.

Almost without thinking, Vex reaches up with her free hand and pulls him towards her. His face presses into the crook of her neck and he tenses. Vex slides her hand down to his back and starts rubbing circles between his shoulders.

Percy’s muscles slowly go lax, but before Vex can congratulate herself on a job well done, he pulls away and straightens up.

She drops her arm, but her other hand is still clasped in his.

He clears his throat, avoiding her eyes. “Thank you, Vex.”

She realises he’s about to shut her out, so she blurts out the first thing that comes to mind. “All things considered, that party could have been worse.”

His eyebrows shoot up. “Yes?”

“Yes!” Vex grins at him and leans in to whisper in his ear conspiratorially: “Those hors-d'oeuvres were _fantastic_.”

That does get a chuckle out of him. “Definitely a step up from dried rations.” There’s a pause as he finally looks at her again. It’s an intense, piercing gaze, and Vex suddenly feels self-conscious. Still, she keeps her eyes trained on him.

“It was nice, yes,” he says, far more thoughtfully than the simple comment is worth. “I… hadn’t danced in a while.” He hesitates. “Especially with a partner like you.”

The tension becomes too much for Vex at this point, and she looks down at her lap. The folds of her dress clash with their dank, squalid surroundings. At least the red should match her suddenly burning cheeks.

“A partner like me?” She hates how small and uncertain her voice is.

Percy gives her hand a squeeze. “You were easily the most beautiful woman in the whole hall. In fact, it seemed a lot of the other guests would love to try and take my place. I was ready to give them a good run for their money.” He frowns and for a moment, he looks positively miserable. Vex feels a pang of pity for him as he fumbles for words. “U-Unless you prefered to dance with them, of course.”

A nervous giggle spills from her lips. “It’s fine, Percival. I-I didn’t.”

“That’s… good to know.”

She looks up at him and finds him staring at her with a hesitant smile. She can feel herself smiling, too.

Silence stretches between them, laden with tension. They have been toeing around this for a while now, but in the small, immediate confines of the cell with nothing to distract them, she can feel it with an almost unbearable intensity.

Vex tells herself this isn’t the time or the place. She realises she doesn’t quite believe her own words. She can see her uncertainty mirrored in Percival’s face.

Before one of them can make a decision either way, a violent shiver rakes her body. The moment slips through her fingers as she raises her arm to wrap it around her middle. A quiet curse escapes her lips. “Damn, it’s cold in here.”

Percy’s hand slips out of hers. Before she can react, he takes off his jacket and hands it to her. “Please, take this. I feel fine.”

“Thank you.” She slips her hands into the warm sleeves, far too long for her and carrying Percy’s scent. Spices and blackpowder. _Weird_ ; he hasn’t even shot his guns wearing this jacket.

Regardless, she wraps it tightly around herself. The smell warms her up as much as the extra layer of fabric itself does. “I wouldn’t expect to get that back if I were you,” she teases, and gives herself a mental pat on the back when her voice sounds more or less normal.

“I can live with that,” Percy says, giving her a rare sincere smile. There’s no trace of his usual sarcasm or self-deprecation, just pure, genuine warmth and an ounce of hopeful tension.

That does it. Vex’s defenses crumble. She leans in and kisses the smile. When their lips touch, Percy stiffens. For a beat, he remains motionless, but then he sighs and gingerly returns the pressure. His hand comes up to brush Vex’s fringe behind her ear.

The kiss lasts no more than a few heartbeats before they break apart. Vex’s face is flushed again. She hides it into Percy’s chest as she shuffles closer and wraps her arm around his waist. His arm tightens around her.

“On second thought, this is very different than my previous prison experiences,” Percy quips after a while.

Vex muffles her laugh in his shirt. “Yeah, I imagine it is!”

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. Although, a bit more light would do wonders for this place. And a proper cleaning.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t bring my broom.”

Both of them laugh at this. Vex can’t keep the giddy edge out of her voice.

“We’re going to be fine, Percival,” she murmurs. “We just need to wait for the others to find a way in. And _out_ , if we’re particularly lucky.”

“I was ready to start coming up with breakout plans, but you know what? Waiting is good. I am very much okay with waiting like this.” He presses a fleeting kiss on the top of her head.

Vex can hear the rhythmic beating of his heart inside his rib cage. She smiles to herself. “Yeah. So am I.”

**Author's Note:**

> so, [CurrieBelle](http://curriebelle.tumblr.com) organised a vex'ahlia prompt exchange a few weeks ago. i didn't get to join it in time, but she was so nice as to send me a few prompts regardless. this was for the prompt "imprisoned/captives". i hope you enjoyed it! i know i had a lot of fun writing it!
> 
> as always, you can find me at [veniaebot](http://veniaebot.tumblr.com)! your kudos/comments/messages make my day c: thank you for reading <3


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